Immune System News and Research

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Innate immune system prevents severe COVID-19 in children

Children are protected from severe COVID-19 because their innate immune system is quick to attack the virus, a new study has found.

17 Feb 2021

Immune system directly links personality to long-term mortality risk, study reveals

Ground-breaking research led by University of Limerick has revealed for the first time that the immune system directly links personality to long-term risk of death.

17 Feb 2021

Novel hydrogel slowly releases RNA nanovaccines to shrink tumors

Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to prevent COVID-19 have made headlines around the world recently, but scientists have also been working on mRNA vaccines to treat or prevent other diseases, including some forms of cancer.

17 Feb 2021

Probiotics may be beneficial in COVID-19 treatment

A new study explores the role of common probiotics in managing the disease, which could prove to be of great value, given the emergence of new variants and the broad spectrum of clinical disease in COVID-19.

17 Feb 2021

New type of antibody marks infected cells, makes them visible to the immune system

Scientists at Cardiff University have discovered a unique way to target a common virus that affects one in 200 newborn babies in the UK but for which there is only limited treatments available.

17 Feb 2021

Study shows how SARS-CoV-2 uses an immune system defense for replication

The immune system actually wants to fight SARS-CoV-2 with antiviral signaling molecules. But a research team from Charité and MDC has now shown how such a signaling molecule can promote the replication of the virus. The results have been published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.

17 Feb 2021

Antibody effector functions are crucial part of treating COVID-19 infections

Of the nine treatments and preventives for COVID-19 authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration, three are drugs made from so-called monoclonal antibodies.

17 Feb 2021

Researchers develop non-cereal crop to enhance yields and consumer health

Delivering the benefits of agricultural biotechnology to smallholder farmers requires that resources be directed toward staple food crops.

17 Feb 2021

Antibody testing is key to understand immune response to SARS-CoV-2

While PCR testing has been used widely for COVID-19 diagnosis, it only provides information on who is currently infected. Antibody testing can tell who has been previously exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, a metric that is essential for tracking spread across a population.

17 Feb 2021

Nsp1 protein could provide new treatments for COVID-19

A study that identifies how a coronavirus protein called Nsp1 blocks the activity of genes that promote viral replication provides hope for new COVID-19 treatments.

16 Feb 2021

Humidity created inside facemasks may help combat COVID-19, study finds

A new study, published in the journal Biophysical Journal by researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), showed that face masks increase the humidity in the air that the mask-wearers inhale. The level of moisture in inhaled air could be linked to lower levels of COVID-19 severity.

16 Feb 2021

Genetic variant inherited from Neanderthals associated with protection against severe COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, impacts people in different ways after infection. Some experience only mild or no symptoms at all while others become sick enough to require hospitalization and may develop respiratory failure and die.

16 Feb 2021

Mice study suggests novel approach to treat a type of common glioma

Gliomas are common brain tumors that comprise about one third of all cancers of the nervous system. In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers tested a novel combination treatment approach on mice with tumors with characteristics similar to human astrocytomas--a type of slow-growing glioma--and found tumor regression in 60 percent of the mice treated.

16 Feb 2021

Study aims to identify proteomic determinants of treatment response in malignant pleural mesothelioma

The National Cancer Institute has granted a $2.5 million, five-year R37 MERIT Award to Dr. Bryan Burt, associate professor of surgery and chief of the Division of General Thoracic Surgery, for his research project titled, "Proteomic Determinants of Response to Checkpoint Blockade in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma."

16 Feb 2021

Asthma may influence the evolution of influenza virus, study shows

A subtype of asthma in adults may cause higher susceptibility to influenza and could result in dangerous flu mutations.

16 Feb 2021

What are the changes in the physical phenotype of blood cells in COVID-19?

While primarily a respiratory illness, there are distinctive alterations in the type and number of blood cells in COVID-19. A new study by a team of researchers in Germany describes the nature of these changes.

16 Feb 2021

Elevated Activin A and FLRG levels correlate with worst outcomes in severe COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection causes a "cytokine storm" in hospitalized and ICU patients. Studies have shown that the blockade of cytokine signaling and steroid treatment helps achieve positive outcomes in patients.

15 Feb 2021

Nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine stimulates robust and long lasting immunity in primates

In the study, published on the preprint server bioRxiv, the team evaluated the ability of AS03, CpG 1018 formulated in Alum, the TLR-7 agonist adsorbed to Alum (AS37), the squalene-in-water emulsion (O/W), and Alum to boost protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2.

15 Feb 2021

Study suggests a new way to personalize anti-CTLA-4 therapy for cancers

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has identified a novel mechanism by which a type of cancer immunotherapy known as CTLA-4 blockade can disable suppressive immune cells to aid the destruction of certain tumors.

15 Feb 2021

Research shows how chemicals in the tumor microenvironment enable cancer to evade attack

A paper published today in Nature shows how chemicals in the areas surrounding tumors--known as the tumor microenvironment--subvert the immune system and enable cancer to evade attack. These findings suggest that an existing drug could boost cancer immunotherapy.

15 Feb 2021